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The rebab/chiro visit was just a cover my bases move, to make sure I wasn’t missing anything. He has been rock solid in that regard.
Got it on the pressure…Take it on the road to the Lowes, tractor supply and pet store for pattern games.
Sunny 55-65 for everyday unless a blizzard, then bring that snow storm on!!
I’ve been following Kristen & Reacher – is the lazy handler game basically a super easy set up circle being a crappy handler and rewarding the dog for taking the line?
Tracy,
We are playing catch up: Trial weekend the first weekend of Nov when we got the B12. Then I knew we would need decompression, so we did a dog vacation in the Fingerlakes last weekend. Cosmo absolutely loved walking everyday (sometimes a couple of times).
The fecal came back negative (incl giardia). We’ve gotten two or three B12 injections so far & *man* it has made a difference in his attitude & appetite. Who knew?? We saw our rehab/chiro vet the Tuesday in between -> he found zero issues with the little guy other than he wanted to alarm bark at the people thru the window, lol. :). He had a fantastic class training session this past Monday. So…I think we’ll keep on the B12 inj for now, maybe find some B9 to orally supplement. Retest both & maybe thyroid in like 2 months. Subclinical levels can definitely be a thing (personal experience), but if the vet is like “nah” on the T4 AND we see lots of good normal stuff with the B12 +/-B9…I may go along with her at that time.
You may have touched on it, or maybe it will come up, but what about pressure? ie those *awesome* starts that have the dog facing the start area/fence for a wrap back to the course?
Ugh, I have a bit of catching up to do & it looks like the weather is going to turn to winter next week :(. I’ll probably have more questions as I work through things.
Best,
SaraHi!
Good idea on the video for the rehab vet! Reg vet did not do folate. I’m thinking our local lab does not run it, but I’ll ask. Maybe it can be added. I inquired about thyroid, but she was reluctant to order it given his lack of typical thyroid symptoms (stable weight, good quality skin & coat). I’m going to pick up the b12 & leave some poop. I’ll see if I can get the poop sent out for analysis as some things are not always caught on a float. Yeah – the conversation was very much around possible IBD. I say let see what the poop tells us first, particularly since he does not have vomiting or diarrhea (not even slightly).
ST
OMG. After a week of crummy “practices” & holding up a leg going down a particular set of stairs, I made an appointment at the vet. She could find nothing wrong with Cosmo on physical exam; patellas rock solid in the groove, no obvious pain, good rom in the hips, nice gait. We took some blood and I requested b12 levels for kick & giggles. Well, we found out today he’s on the low side of normal (suggestive of poss IBD). I am going to supplement Cosmo & recheck in 12 weeks. He has normal stools & no vomiting, so I am not sure an ultrasound or a diet trial is something I will follow up with at this time. The diet trial would be hard in a house of 4 dogs. Fecal analysis is probably a good idea though. Will also see the rehab vet on Tues…just in case. 😉
Tracy,
Sounds like a good plan to me! Bring on the tricks! He learned to “speak” real quick this week, lol. Backup has been hard.
>>That is something I have seen from a bunch of super cool Havanese that have come through classes and seminars – the prefer toys over food, and are picky about food. Their preferences for reinforcement lean more towards what a herding dog or sighthound would like! And that is fine 🙂
That is reassuring. It has been really been confusing for me. I kinda felt like I didn’t know my dog because I couldn’t tell what was a better reinforcer for him right away. I knew what to try, but he is shifty that way. The lotus fern is always a sure bet & covers both bases. I should get one of those furry lotus balls, $$.
>>That’s more of a stress response, so in those moments it will be best to move further from the challenge or stressor, and go to the pattern games (practice those away from stress first).
All of this is super helpful – thank you! Pattern games and tricks this weekend!
Tracy,
>>First thing to ask is if he has had a full medical workup?
He has had his annual exam in August and a lux patella exam for OFA (no lux :)). I asked my vet (someone I trust & have worked with) how he looked/felt orthopedically & she had no concerns. No labs or rads at this time – although I inquired about hip rads. His most recent hwt, lyme, erlichia test was neg. Certainly something that can be furhter explored. It worth mentioning I am an LVT that worked with DACVS’s for 5 years – that does NOT make me AN EXPERT by any means though, lol. Dogs can certainly hide some things really well.>>And tell me more about the tough day in the lesson and the trial meltdown
UGH. We had been training on a Thursday. He was being his zippy self and flew up and over the A-frame. Cosmo was at about the yellow/blue junction in the corner of my left eye as I looked forward and when I looked back he was sideways on the ground on just past the landing side of the Aframe. It took him a minute and then he was back up. No limping or obvious movement or mental deficiencies. No one saw what exactly happened, although I have since seen him kinda go so fast that he’s nearly butt over head on landing or a stop. He was pretty understandably hesitant about the Aframe in a particular direction for a bit. That Sunday we did UKI Christmas event in the same place: more people, small space for a trial, music… It was a corner start – he literally did not move. Cosmo ended up having some loose stools that day – my guess is it was stress related. His training at that place was bit slow for a while, but improved with time. He was fine at a second smaller place that we train – super zippy, distance (nothing happened there ;)). His training at the first place improved for a bit (tanked a little in the heat of the summer) and has gotten much more consistent & better recently. The issue with density/crowding had cropped in confirmation a couple of times, he wouldn’t implode, but definitely overwhelmed. I should mention (as I am remembering) that pre December – We had a couple of single FEO’s and then trialled 3 weekends (not all three days in the 3 weekends though and not in a row). in two ring events (less dense). I had noticed a little slowing on the second runs in November.In training I have been using a furry toy on a slip lead lately. It does get him going when on the run. Remote rewards: Julie Daniels had a cookie jar game self study class on Fenzi that we worked parts of. It was going ok. I think I was missing the engagement part. He is not always gung-ho out of his mind about food as a reward, even high value stuff (pickiness is a thing for this dog and the dogs from his breeder). At home I use freeze dried chicken & chicken hearts, cheese, & buddy bits. He makes no mistakes in class except to maybe repeat the weaves – by that I mean even if I’m not correct, he only knows that he was a good boy. The videos I do have – I see that sometimes my disconnect is a problem (that I am working on).
>>What type of food rewards are you using? We can look at reward value too. And is he getting rewarded in the ring a LOT, like a WHOLE LOT 🙂 And in class and trials, set him up to have easy fast lines with no errors (and if you mess up because you are a normal human 🤣😂 just keep going).–>> YES
See above. At trials or more challenging places rotisserie Chicken, dried chicken hearts, cheese, meatballs. Although truthfully – the chicken hearts are like the safe, familiar high value option. ie sometimes he’ll reject the rotisserie chicken if things are just too much. I can definiely up the reward frequency with more consistency – I honestly forget to do this, but it does work when I remember.I think that hit all of the questions.
